• VIDEO: youtu.be/plYSmzvbM08
The House Committee on Natural Resources holds a markup on H.R.726, the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025.
H.R.726 updates the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 to provide the Crow Tribe with greater flexibility to develop water infrastructure projects in Montana. The bill otherwise does not resolve any new tribal water rights issues.
The markup took place on July 15, 2026. The committee approved the bill, sending it to the U.S. House of Representatives for further consideration.
Note: Thumbnail photo of the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation. As part of the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010, the Department of the Interior, in partnership with the Crow Tribe, is authorized to enter into an agreement for hydropower development on the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam, downstream of Yellowtail Dam and Powerplant, on the Bighorn River near Fort Smith, Montana.
